glass brasserie: Crave Let's Do Lunch, CBD Sydney (23 Oct 2012)

2/488 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000

http://www.glassbrasserie.com.au

Steaking out a craving

After spotting the oysters at the kitchen pass during a Salute Peru event with Chef Ricardo Zarate I was tempted to return to try them. It's very rare to find a restaurant that serves oysters with their shell lid. The only other place I've seen in Sydney that did it was the late Quarter Twenty One. It's a sure sign that the oysters have just been shucked to order and for a passionate oyster lover like myself the fresher the better to appreciate the all important oyster brine. The Oysters ($42 dozen) of the day were Merimbula Sydney Rock and Coffin Bay Pacifics. The oysters were a bit smaller than hoped so it could be due to the season. I preferred the pacifics which were a bit more plump and retained more brine in their deeper shell. The shucked presentation of some of the rock oysters was a bit on the rough side and I found a few oysters with a bit of shell which is always unfortunate. The migonette sauce was done well and very good. I generally order at least 3 oysters to have one natural, one with lemon and another with the mignonette sauce. The very nice complimentary bread was served warm. One of the waiters offered us a second helping but never returned which was a shame.

Crave's Let's Do Lunch in October provides a perfect opportunity to sample a dish with wine and a coffee at a reasonable price making it generally good value. The Spiced Rangers Valley flank with carrot cumin puree, mustard leaf, Madeira jus ($38) was enjoyable with tender and flavoursome meat. Cooked medium as per the kitchen recommendation. The elements on the plate worked nicely together and went very well with the 2010 Brown Brothers Tempranillo King Valley & Heathcote Vic which was smooth on the palate. As an extra treat to celebrate my friends birthday we tried the Selection of sorbets ($14) which was very good. We liked the lemon probably the best and then the coconut. The cherry was also very flavoursome. My Chocolate, ruby grapefruit & blood orange, candied ginger, salted chocolate sorbet ($20) had a nice combination of flavours. The grapefruit and blood orange helped to cut through the rich chocolate. I'm thankful to our friendly and polite waitress Alex for reminding us that coffee was included with the deal. The Green Tea and Hot Chocolate were both good.

Other visits to glass brasserie:

• 23 Oct 2012 - Let's Do Lunch, Oysters, Dessert

• 11 May 2012 - Hilton introduces new breakfast menu
• 5 Feb 2012 - $20 Corporate Lunch Deals

• 31 Oct 2010 - Let's Do Lunch

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Nice decor and ambience, Friendly and polite service (Alex), Quality ingredients, Let's Do Lunch deal can be good value considering it includes wine and coffee

CONS: A la carte menu can be quite expensive, Oysters on the small side at the moment and shuck presentation on some a bit rough

MUST TRY: Returning to try other dishes on the menu
VERDICT: Let's Do Lunch at glass brasserie is good value considering you get a quality dish with wine, bread and coffee in a nice restaurant setting with friendly service

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Complimentary bread - served warm and very good although when offered more it never arrived so service must have forgotten

2010 Brown Brothers Tempranillo King Valley & Heathcote Vic - very good, smooth, nice on the palate, not too much tannin, easy to drink
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Oysters ($42 dozen) Merimbula Sydney Rock, Coffin Bay Pacifics (preferred) - shucked to order and presented with shell lid. They were good but was hoping they were going to be a bit more plump in size

Merimbula Sydney Rock Oysters — brine retained but a few a bit roughed up

Coffin Bay Pacific Oysters — brine retained although on the smallish side

Excellent mignonette sauce

Spiced Rangers Valley flank with carrot cumin puree, mustard leaf, Madeira jus ($38 inc wine and coffee) - tender meat, nice flavour, no gristle found
WORTH TRYING :-)

Selection of sorbets ($14) — coconut was good, cherry was flavoursome, lemon was very good and my favourite
WORTH TRYING :-)

Chocolate, ruby grapefruit & blood orange, candied ginger, salted chocolate sorbet ($20) — flavours worked nicely together, grapefruit and blood orange helped cut through the rich chocolate
WORTH TRYING :-)

Green Tea and Hot Chocolate included in meal deal — both good

Nice decor and no shortage of business lunches

Sides menu — French fries is always tempting

Let's Do Lunch $38 including beverage and coffee

Oyster menu

Dessert menu

Bill $152 for two

These signature dishes look like they're worth coming back for to try

'Please tell us what you really think' — I certainly will

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